Video: Walrus calves rescued along Russian coast

The Umky Patrol, or Polar Bear Patrol, which is affiliated with WWF Russia, does important work in monitoring polar bear populations along the Russian coastline, among other things. Late last year, the Patrol rescued some walrus calves on Cape Kozhevnikov after an unusual seeming mass panic, during which many walruses perished. Read the story of the rescue below, or watch the video of the rescue (on the Umky Patrol website) here.

After a panic occurred among walruses on the cape Kozhevnikov on September 27, 2008, where a group of animals rushed to the water without any obvious reason, the polar bear patrol crew decided to inspect the coast.

As a result they found 98 calves had perished and 10 adult walruses had also died. During their inspection of the area, the dolorous voice of a walrus calf drew the patrol’s attention and they found the poor small animal stuck in a crack between large rocks.

It was decided to try to rescue the calf. Using ropes, five strong adult men tried to pull the baby walrus out, but could not keep it calm. The calf tore itself away from its rescuers and again became stuck in between the rocks. Again the ropes were put to use, and after half an hour of hard work the animal was finally released into the water where it was met by its mother.

It was getting dark when someone again noticed the sound of a calf crying: one more walrus calf was in similar trouble. Again, though, after half an hour’s work using ropes to pull the calf free, it was happily released to join its family.